My First Year at a Japanese Company
Essay Series: Introductions 5/8
The months following the New Year were eventful to say the least.
I ended up in Vietnam from a game of rock, scissors, paper and found myself on a bus traveling to the middle of nowhere. After that, I kept the one-girl party going from coast to coast in the United States to meet old friends, internet friends and clients galore. A billion and one stories that I will save for another campfire.
After two months of traveling, I moseyed on back to my mountain in Japan to paint and finally finish projects I put off while traveling.
And I am filled with good feelings this evening to share one of those projects. While I’ll have to wait a few more months to see it fully come to fruition, I reached a checkpoint that I didn’t think I would see: sharing the digital copy of my very first book.
When I look back on this project, a plethora of feels sweep over me.
Everyone has had their share of working for companies and the ups and downs office life brings—but two years ago was my first time to have the pleasure. Going from freelance to a full-on full time job was daunting, but I learned so much from it; humor can be found in dull moments and beauty in frustrated tears.
Looking back at how I even got the job serves as a constant reminder that opportunities are waiting where you least expect.
Joining a company was never on my horizon, but the chance appeared out of a completely unrelated event… a friend coming to check on the state of our weak floor. It went from me talking about how fabulously broke I was to talking about a mutual friend’s company to getting an interview. Who knew I would start working at said company three months later? Who knew I would write a book about the experience three years later? I thank that rotting floor all the time for guiding me to the next chapter.
No matter what it may be, getting a chord stuck in a chair or finding a brand new white hair, the small things can be a stepping stone to something bigger.
It is inevitable for feelings of angst to bubble over from time to time, but when they do this puts me at ease:
These useless days will add up to something. These things are your becoming. ― Cheryl Strayed
So no matter what it be… a weak floor, stubbing your toe… or other events that get scream-into-your-pillow frustrating, could also be filled to the brim with hidden opportunity. You just might have to make it so.
Otsukare and stay safe during these crazy times.
Hey lovelies. This is an 8-part series entitled “Introductions” that will slowly make its way to you over the next few months. I’m sharing some pieces of my life and how I started creating along with a little insight into the process for some current projects. Share your life with me too and enjoy the ride.
“The useless days will add up to something. The shitty waitressing jobs. The hours writing in your journal.
The long meandering walks. The hours reading poetry and story collections and novels and dead people’s diaries and wondering about sex and God and whether you should shave under your arms or not. These things are your becoming.”